


Breakfast with Mamie

by IrishCoffee



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-28
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2018-01-21 04:15:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1537175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrishCoffee/pseuds/IrishCoffee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's another trip to grandmas and Greg attempts to show off</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breakfast with Mamie

Another "weekend" in Bristol, Greg had wanted out of his home, he needed to get away but he didn't want to be away from people. Myles was always welcoming, to the both of them, but it was always a little more chaos than one wanted when 'getting away from it all'. If Greg had wanted to be around screaming children he'd stay at work.   
Not wanting to be around just any people as neither of the men were too keen on the general population, the only logical choice was Mamie's, Jim could tag along without problem, they could come and go as they pleased but there was still be around someone else. Add to that how much of a grandma's boy Greg was it truly was just the best possible solution. 

Jim had found himself in an in-depth discussion with Mamie about how she'd met her late husband. She rarely spoke of the man and even Greg found himselfcaught up in the talk of his grandfather, he remembered the man and well but he didn't know all the stories, all the things that happened before he arrived in their life. Before they knew it, the cupboard was nearly drained of tea it the clock was creeping up on midnight. Henrietta decided it was time to end story time and she went to bed. 

Greg and Jim, on the other hand, did not. As always they carefully crept outside and did a day's worth of smoking in twenty minutes, got caught making out by an elderly woman, barely awake and cranky, who was bringing her dog out for a late night bathroom break, and made their way back inside to lay in bed and have some time to themselves. 

Eventually Jim drifted off but Greg couldn't seem to do the same, try as he might he couldn't get his brain to shut off and allow him proper rest. He assumed it was from actually having a good day, the feeling was too good to let go and his mind wasn't going to let him. Dozing here and there, Greg got his sleep in minutes not hours. Soon the sun was rising and he watched the light flood the room, he could hear the neighbourhood waking up and gave in and did the same. 

Slipping out of the bed, knowing Jim would stir for a few minutes but ultimately find it incredibly normal, Greg often got up before him, for work, to go to the bathroom, and on rare occasions to slip downstairs for a snack. Half past seven and Greg was wide awake while the rest of the house slept, it was backwards. 

Taking advantage, he made his way outside and sucked down a quick cigarette, not knowing when the next would come, his jacket thrown on over nothing more than his boxers, no one had to know and he had little shame anyways. 

Back inside there was one clear thing to do; make breakfast. He could have cheated, killed two birds with one stone and drove to the market to get something horrible like donuts while keeping the scent of nicotine strong in his car but Greg knew better, if Jim didn't get him for that, Mamie would. Plus the reason he was awake at this hour was an excess of energy, this would help expel some. 

Just like at home, he started to brew the coffee he knew he'd want, set the kettle up for when it the rest woke (though he set three tea cups down on the table). Moving around like it was his own home, Greg pulled out some bread, eggs, and a tin of beans. There was a gentle reminder to himself that he could cook something far better than this but didn't have all the needed ingredients (and Mamie was a Lestrade just like him, she wouldn't want anything fancy).  
Still, he was ambitious. Greg liked his eggs over easy but, in the past, if he wanted them that way he'd have go to a restaurant because all his attempts ended in scrambled eggs. After a while, scrambled was just what he made at home. Not any more though, Greg was more confident in the kitchen, he could cook! If he was left alone, he wouldn't have to rely on take-aways anymore. So over easy it was, over easy eggs for everyone! Which was completely to show off, never mind your egg preferences, look what I can do. 

Everything started off well enough, Greg set the oven on to warm so when he cooked the first set of eggs they could sit on the back of the cook top and stay warm without cooking too much more (watch Mamie enough and you learn a few things), he warmed his pan up, greased it so the eggs wouldn't stick and cracked two eggs in the pan. Successfully flipped and cooked on the other side, Greg moved them to a plate and set them back. On to the next. One broke in flipping but he'd just serve himself those ones and no one would have to know.

By the third set he was getting cocky, cracking the eggs and leaving them to cook in the pan as Greg set the table quickly. Three sets of silverware and a small plate for the toast as the plate with eggs were already out, took no time at all and he was back for the flip, yet again he pulled it off. If there were a victory dance for cooking eggs, Greg would have been doing it. With the worst out of the way he put some bread in the toaster and clicked the kettle on 

The tin of beans were opened and sat waiting to be dished up and it was as Greg was poking around the fridge to find some butter and that's when everything fell apart. In his confidence he'd forgotten the last set of eggs would need taken out of the pan and suddenly a very loud reminder began sounding. The smoke alarm seemed content to blaring out it's over dramatic warning for such a small amount of smoke from some 'slightly' burnt eggs. 

"Fuck!" Greg muttered, instantly putting his hand to his mouth, didn't want caught saying that. He quickly pulled the pan off the stove and threw it in the empty sink, pulling open the window and turning around to grab the kitchen towel. Once he had the towel, he began waving it at the smoke alarm, desperately trying to get it to stop making noise. 

It was too late, however, as Greg stood there in his boxers, waving a towel at the ceiling and trying not to swear, the rest of the house shuffled into the room. Mamie was still trying to work on her dressing down and looked over at Greg with this look that somehow read anger and love all at the same time. Jim was a little more alert than her but not by a lot, he had the blanket from the bed wrapped around his shoulders. The beeping finally stopped and Greg just hung his head, defeated. A sharp sigh and a mumbled "I made breakfast." he offered more as an explanation for the noise rather than an achievement. 

Neither Mamie nor Jim were new to Greg's cooking, between the both of them they'd taught him everything he knew that wasn't to dial a number or microwave a package. In childhood Walter took to it better and Mamie admittedly focused there but it did ensure all her boys ate. Still there was embarrassment written all over Greg, he set out with such good intentions, failing was never easy for him.

Jim rubbed his eyes, trying to shake the last of sleep, the smile growing on his face. Holding tight to the blanket with one hand he walked the few steps closer to Greg and pressed his free hand to the bare chest. Shaking his head with a small but playful scoff Jim pressed a quick kiss to Greg's lips, his hand had traveled to the back of Greg's neck and smoothed over the bed head that hadn't been touched all morning. "I'm going to go wash up for breakfast."

He could have easily made fun of Greg, it wouldn't be unusual for them. Jim could have stepped up and made a 'better' breakfast, he could have made a gourmet breakfast out of what Mamie had in her kitchen like one of the cooking channel challenge shows. There could have been cute and comforting words about how hard Greg tried and it's the effort that counts.

There wasn't any of that though, Greg and Jim hardly operated under those 'suppose to's'. Jim turned around to head back to the bedroom, find a more suitable outfit than what dressed the bed. Henrietta stood there with a smirk on her face, one Jim had seen plenty of times before on his partner's face but just nodded his head towards the corridor, a silent 'shall we?' to the woman.

Greg didn't bother changing, he was comfortable, he was at home, and at least he was wearing pants. As the others readied themselves for the day, he prepared what was left of breakfast. Setting up he two good plates of eggs for Jim and Mamie, Jim getting the plate with the one broken yolk. Toast was successfully made and the tea poured as the kettle finished a while ago. Then shutting everything ekse off, nothing else would going be burnt today. 

The smell of outside was drifting in and mixing with the charred eggs, it had rained in the night and you could tell, but it was also chilling the room quickly. Greg left the window open anyways, he'd rather be cold than smell his mistake for the rest of the day. Reluctantly dishing up eggs from the pan to his plate, Greg sat down at the table.

Sheer stubbornness, the only reason he was going to attempt to eat these rather than make some new ones. It was as if he admitted there was something wrong than everyone would suddenly know. They were only blackened on one side anyways. 

Mamie came in and smiled that matronly smile, the one that said she would have loved the breakfast if it was hard as a rock and twice as burnt as what Greg was eating, he'd made it. She could see the improvement not the one fail. Taking her place at the head of the table there was a soft "It looks lovely, dear.". 

This was a big reason Greg had taken to his grandparents like he had, they built him up. It was the successes not the failures, everything was great if you made it with love and you really tried. In a world where everyone cut him down, his grandparents put the pieces back together the best the could. 

These days Mamie wasn't doing that job alone, Jim was finding broken pieces no one knew existed anymore and fixing those and grandmother just couldn't. It was impossible to deny that Greg was a new man. 

Moments later Jim came in the room, still in his pyjamas but now fully dressed. Greg was putting the appropriate additives in their cups of tea as Jim sat in his chair. 

Not much was said, the clanking of silverware, the did you boys sleep alright, and the passive compliments on Greg's cooking exchanged between Jim and Henrietta but little else filled the air. Lestrades were slow to wake and even though Greg hadn't really slept he was content to remain quiet.

Poking at the eggs, which he'd turned so the burnt side was on the plate, perhaps tricking his brain that these were acceptable, Greg didn't really eat much. A few bites and they proved to be inedible, the toast devoured and the rest became something to play with. 

Jim, on the other hand, never finished all his food. He ate the over hard egg, half a piece of toast, and some of the beans before pushing his plate away; full. He wasn't but he was satisfied and someone could use the food more. The plate wasn't offered over right away, Greg would know, instead Jim pulled his saucer closer and focused on his tea. 

The phone rang, cutting the silence worse than the smoke alarm of earlier, and Henrietta excused herself to answer it. Jim seized the opportunity and offered up his plate, the less attention drawn to this the better. "It will just end up in the bin and it's already getting cold." he shrugged, dismissing his own offer like it was nothing. 

A familiar "Oh really?" was heard from the other room, one that instantly set Greg and Jim on alert. Something about the tone had them both aware they'd done something. The collective breath they were both hold was let out as they both tried to hear anything else. Giving up, Greg switched their plates and began to poke at Jim's food instead. He'd been here before, there was no amount of preparation that would make things go easy so it was best to just carry on.   
Soon footsteps were making their way back in the room, Mamie started talking before she entered. "That was Janice from nex--" having arrived in the room, instantly catching the plates that had been rearranged, she smiled. It was a knowing smile with that hint of mischief, a telling smirk that said she knew exactly what was happening, a look that left Jim wondering exactly how many generations did it go back?

Greg looked up to greet the woman and her incoming story but he caught the look as well, he knew what it meant. He may have never been aware of when he made it but certainly recognized it in others. "What?!" he shot, not towards the sentence that was left hanging. It was the closest Greg would come to raising his voice towards his grandmother and even that was laced with more innocence than a grown man should have, more like getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar than anything else. 

"Nothing, dear. Not at thing." Henrietta answered, the smile seemed to grow, her eye twinkling with false innocence, and she sat back in her chair. 

Greg huffed a breath out his nose but knew he wasn't going to told anything more. Childish and disgruntled, he went back to his eggs. Just before taking a bit he grumbled out "What'd Janice want then?" not thrilled about the subject change. 

"Yes." her personality shifted in an instant, going from 'I see what you two did' to upset mother. "Seems she took her dog out last night and swears she seen you two out in the garden snogging." her head cocked as she waited for an explanation.

Without a missed beat, Greg spoke. Sure Jim could handle this, he had a gift for words, but Greg knew how to get out of trouble with his grandma, something Jim couldn't learn in books. "We went to bed maybe five minutes after you, ten tops." the exasperated groan he let out really sold how ridiculous this accusation was.

"So she just seen two other men who happened to look like you?" 

"I'm saying it was late, she's just mistaken. It's dark outside and she's so blind she loses that dog weekly and you know it!" There was an all too familiar air, they had both been here many, many times.

"I told her it couldn't have been you two, she said they were smoking and I know you lads aren't into that." the words came out more like a warning that dismissing the lady next door. 

"Mamie!" Greg was turning it up all the way now, sounding completely appalled at the mere suggestion of such a thing. The look of shock on his face almost over doing it. "I told you she's a bit daft, we were in bed not in your garden smoking."

With that, Greg turned back to his plate and started to eat his food with a new found vigor. It was the announcement that this conversation was ridiculous and it was over.

"Good, I don't want to have the whole neghbourhood thinking my boys are out acting like they're teenagers again." the half-hearted warning came with a smile, She gave a wink to Jim who'd just picked up his tea cup to finish the contents off. 

"Aw, where's the fun in growing up?" Jim purred once he'd set the cup back in its saucer, a playful smile now taking over his face. He was picking up where his partner dropped off. This was much more Jim's area, he could steer the conversation away from what the neighbour had seen and turn that into a forgotten phone call and he could do it without acting like a petulant child.


End file.
